1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a watercraft with a solid hull and a solid outer side, where a recess extending essentially in a horizontal plane is formed in the outer side of the watercraft above the waterline, in which recess an elastically deformable safety element is permanently installed, which is folded onto itself in a first operating state and is inflated by means of a compressed gas from a source of pressurized fluid in a second operating state.
2. Description of Prior Art
A watercraft of this type is known from, for example, DE 197 47 359. The elastically deformable safety element is screwed over its entire length to the outer side of the watercraft by threaded stay bolts. The strength of this screwed, nonpositive connection must be nearly equal over the entire length of the element. This is a complicated piece of work and difficult to verify. It is possible, for example, for some of the threaded stay bolts to break during installation without anyone noticing. Even in the case that the damage should be noticed during the final inspection, correcting the problem is relatively complicated. The most significant disadvantage, however, is that the safety element cannot be installed without a considerable amount of effort.